April UFO finish!

I've been a bit under the weather since I got back from quilt camp. An insect bite I had before I left went terribly wrong. You know it's bad when nurses are shocked! Anyway, I finally went to Urgent Care, got a couple medications, and now, all is right with the world (or in this case, my leg!). 

One of the medications is an anti-itch, so I have been in slo-mo mode all week. It took me three days, but I am finally caught up with the 365 Challenge blocks for last week. The three inch one in the dark row marked with the yellow butterfly pin was our last small block for a while. I was pretty excited to move on to the six inch blocks until I saw the first one consisted of four three inch star blocks--yeesh! The six inch block on the lower right--yep--square in a square--nine of them! I went to my EQ7 program and printed out paper foundations to save my sanity. 

Before I left for Quilt Camp, I got my dark borders sewn onto the medallion. If I get tired of being challenged, at least I will have a nice table topper!

Since I'm feeling so sleepy, I wouldn't be posting, but it's almost the end of the month and I haven't shown my finish! My Memory Bouquet aka Vintage Memories (my name for my quilt), has been quilted and bound for at least a week.

I didn't get the label sewn on until this morning--now this quilt is finished!

I didn't do any quilting in the red fabric--I didn't think it was needed (and I'm a really lazy quilter!). Fortunately, even after all these years, I was able to locate the binding I had made from the same red fabric I used in the rest of the quilt--that was a relief!

You can see the trees haven't leafed out yet--hopefully soon we'll be seeing green!
A little bit about the quilt:
The Memory Bouquet blocks were published in 1930 by The Kansas City Star newspaper. The designs were drawn by Eveline Foland and meant to be appliqued. This was a Stitch Therapy group project at Colorz several years ago and several people did do applique versions. We used the book Star Quilts II that contains all twenty blocks, but some stitchers also used Deb Kratovil's designs that I see are now available on Craftsy HERE. My version is a mix of embroidery and applique. I used a Crabapple Hill fabric from Lucien as my embroidery background. The red fabric is a repro--I'm sorry, I don't recall the designer. My embroidery was done with two strands of a Cosmo #858. The dog tooth border around each embroidered block was appliqued--read about that HERE and also HERE.
Whew---I'm off to take a nap!

Vintage Memories is one of my 2Q Finish-A-Long projects and also my

 One Monthly Goal for April

Linking with One Monthly Goal HERE

 

Ready to Go!!

I don't think I have mentioned yet that I was gifted with these two books from  Martingale during the All in a Row Sew Along. 

I've found several quilts that I need to put on my to-do list--love this log cabin quilt by Carrie Nelson from the I Love Log Cabins book...

and this spider web quilt from Striking Strip Quilts by Kate Henderson is pretty awesome too. 

This is a very fun one too (also from Striking Strips)--I sure wish there were more hours in the day to stitch all the quilts I would love to make!! 

From Moda, I got these two charm packs--both of these lines are pretty cool!

Well, I'm almost done packing for the retreat and my 2Q Finish-A-Long Quilt Camp Pillowcase is finished and ready to take along. I don't think I need to worry about leaving behind a pillow that's wearing this--lol!
See you next week!!

Another Hump Day Progress Report!

Somehow, it's already Wednesday, and I'm still working on binding my April UFO. As usual I got a little sidetracked...

Since my Stitch Therapy meeting was on Monday morning, I needed to make up a few Lisa's Flower Garden blocks before class in case there were any little tips I could pass along. The wool applique blocks are only fused in place. I haven't started any stitching yet, but I am definitely itching to do that!

On Tuesday, I managed to finish the stitching on the Little Wooly Baskets blocks while I was at the Breezy Point Sew-In. 

I had to add some stems to the strawberry blossoms and little seeds to the strawberries just for fun. 

And another week of 365 Challenge blocks are done--whew!
I hadn't sewn any of these since last Wednesday, so Monday night I got back up to speed.
Thankfully, yesterday's and today's blocks were pretty simple.

I don't know what I was thinking, but in my mind, quilt camp was another week away. Wrong! It starts this Saturday--yikes!  I will be doing my packing the rest of this week. There's a longarm quilting meeting on Friday, so I will need to stay on task tonight and tomorrow, for sure!
I've got my ThimbleCreek Clue 9 fabrics cut and will take them along to sew at the retreat.
The blocks are (again) perfect for the Magic 8 technique, so it was quick cutting.
Back to packing!! 

Slow and Steady...

Last Sunday it was pedal to the metal sewing for me, so I am sooooo ready for some Slow Sunday Stitching this week!

That "fast" quilting has paid off and now I can relax and stitch my binding. I may even do that outside--it's looking like a glorious day. It's crazy how we went from temps in the 30's to the 70's (80's one day) in just a few days, but I am loving it!

Sneak peek:
 Monday is the first meeting of Stitch Therapy in 2016 at Colorz Quilt Shop. We will be making Lisa's Flower Garden (or variations there of). This is my "palette" of wool and fabrics. I'm using Moda charm squares from Betsy Chutchain's Lizzie's Legacy line and Laundry Basket Quilt's Sticks and Stones. I will be mixing in a few pieces from my own stash also, but not much. More to come....
I hope you find some time today to do some slow stitching!
 Check it out HERE

Hump Day Update

I've been trying really hard to stay focused and keep plugging away on my machine quilting project.

I was a little stressed about stitching over the embroidery but it's such a large area-- it really needed to be nailed down. I'm very pleased with how it's looking though. The oval around the embroidery was an idea from the brilliant Marcia Stevens.
Only two rows left to go--unless you count the sashing as a row (I do!)--then there are five rows to go. And, of course, then there's the border....

Okay, you knew I couldn't stay completely focused!
I have been taking a little time to keep up with my Sew Along projects. These are the latest blocks for Circa 2016  from Temecula Quilt Company. It was mentioned that we will need 120 Half Square Triangles for finishing the quilt top in October--may as well sew them up now and be done with it, right?

This week's ThimbleCreek mystery blocks went together really quick and easy--love that! 

And another week of 365 Challenge Blocks is under the bridge--most of these were not quick or easy!

I would really like to just sit and stitch on the latest baskets from Linen Closet Designs, but I am going to get back to the quilting machine after a quick walk---we finally have some decent temps outside and I don't want to miss out!
Hope you find time to do some sewing too!

2016 2nd Quarter Finish-A-Long

I had pretty good success finishing my list of projects for the first quarter of 2016, so made up a new list for the second quarter:

My only carry-over from the first quarter--Memory Bouquet.
It's been loaded on my quilting machine almost a week and hasn't been touched since, so we'll see...

This little wall hanging kit has been waiting to be made for years! Maybe it's because the log cabin blocks are paper pieced--not my favorite technique.

The background muslin is missing from the kit, so I am searching my stash for some light prints that will work with the other fabrics in the kit.

Since I had this piece of fabric out to make my Quilt in a Cup, I decided it's about time to use the rest of it. I'm not sure, but I may have bought this to make a pillowcase--so that's what I'm going to do!

I found a fun dot and an accent fabric in my stash that I think will work out.

Months ago, I bought a huge chunk of clear vinyl and some fun colored zippers, intending to make some project bags. They've been taking up space on my cutting table for long enough! And I really need something to hold all those sew along blocks I've succumbed to! 

I finished my Devil's Claw blocks at the last retreat I attended--they haven't been touched since. I'm taking them along to a retreat later this month and my goal there is to get them made into a top...and maybe even quilt it when I get back! 

My Fractured blocks will be going to the retreat also.
 I still have lots more to make before they can become a top, but they are super fun to sew, so it could happen?!?

I started hand quilting this little top, and that's why it's still unfinished.
I realize now that with the arthritis in my wrists, I just can't enjoy quilting by hand anymore. So, even though I'm loath to do it, it's going to be finished by machine. Done is good! 

Lastly, I really want to get my wooly hexagons out of this bin and put them together into a quilt!
Wish me luck!

Linking with 2016 Finish-A-Long HERE

A little update...

I'm happy to report that I'm caught up on several ongoing projects...

...the ThimbleCreek trees...

...one is a Blue Spruce--I ran out of green Kim Diehl fabrics. 

The 365 Challenge is getting very exciting--only one more corner block and the center medallion is complete! 

Did you hear that blood curdling scream last Friday?
Yeah--it was me when I saw the Temecula Circa 2016 block of the week was not just a Square in a Square (my nemesis), but a Square in a Square in another Square! Fortunately, they went together without too much fuss.

I hope you are finding time to do some stitching too! 

April UFO Hopeful and A Little of This and a Little of That...

Memory Bouquet was the only project on my first quarter 2016 Finish-A-Long that I didn't get completed.

It's about time this quilt gets top priority, so it will be my April One Monthly Goal project to complete. It's been pressed and hanging on my design wall for months. I have a quilt retreat later this month, so I better get to work! 

I have to show off my new sewing tins I ordered from Nancy's Notions. I thought they looked a lot like Cath Kidston and couldn't resist. A quilter can never have too many containers, right?

Okay, here's my tip of the week.
Buy this textured, easy to tear tape at Walmart or Walgreen's, or if you like to pay double, purchase it at your local quilt shop! I've shown this clear textured tape before. I use it on all my rulers and templates and totally love it. It has great gripping power and can be easily removed. That's why when I saw this video for  C&T Tear Perfect Maker Tape, I had to chuckle. How many other everyday objects get repackaged for quilters and sold at double the price? Hair clips for one. Honestly, I thought it was an April Fool's joke at first!
You can buy it HERE or HERE

I haven't worked on my crazy mat for a while--too busy binding quilts!
Today I am going to relax and do some wooly stitching!

One Monthly Goal link HERE
Sew Simple Saturday HERE
Slow Sunday Stitching HERE
Podunk Picken's HERE