Friday, January 28, 2011

Some Finishes

 

These took way too long, lol.  First up, I started this (I think) at the end of the summer.  I thought it would be a pillow but it came out bigger than I intended & I don’t know where to hang it—so here it lives on the dining room table.

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I wish I could remember whose blog I found the idea on, I really enjoyed making it and did some really tight FMQ.  The background isn’t white, it’s an ivory-ish/cream print (like a white on white, I love those for dyeing).

Next up, Christmas quilts.  Ahem, yep, end of January, the kids are coming tomorrow, I just tossed them in the washer. 

For the 6 yr old monkey fanatic, my quilting was way beyond that prancing pony thing, more like a near sighted galloping stallion.  The bottom 2 rows are quilted in large circles around each center, the top 2 rows are a curvy zig zag (shown) and the center is my first attempt at pebbling.  I know he’ll love it but I’m so sad it didn’t turn out like I planned.   I’m not showing the really bad circle rows, lol.

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I backed it with a striped sheet & used a nice heavy flannel sheet for the batting.  The main color on the front is kona ash.

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For my 9 yr old pink obsessed daughter a wonky log cabin.  I really like this one!  I didn’t make it super big and I think this is my first square quilt.  The white sashing is a sheet, the batiks are a joann’s jelly roll & I used warm & natural batting.

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It kind of became a “use what I’ve got” project when it came to the back & binding.  I love this print, it totally doesn’t go with the front, heck it wasn’t even big enough & I had to add a strip of black.  The loopy quilting makes sense from the top, a little crazy on the black strip, lol.  These are the first 3 quilts I’ve labeled, used the alphabet on my machine on some yellow scrap, nothing fancy, they’re all alike.  I bound it with leftovers from the firehouse quilt I donated and I took the time to hand stitch it down., the corners came out great!

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And for the 9 yr old boy I had instructions for “blue, baseball & stuff like bicycling, trains, skateboarding.”  I mostly went with the blue but there’s a baseball print in there and the backing I think is perfect.  Another flannel sheet for batting & my best quilting of the group.

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And for reference, here are the tops from prior photos.

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I love this alternate layout for drunkards path, I have a top for myself done the same way with batiks.

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Next up for the kids is a white tiger quilt for my 12 yr old daughter.  Should be interesting!  I have until July, it might take that long!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Design Wall Monday

 

Not much to show this week, though I did do a bit of sewing last week.  I’m working on some original quilt blocks for a contest here at Quilt Story.  I can’t remember the last time I joined a contest but the prizes are awesome & I love a challenge.  These 2 aren’t going to be submitted but I enjoyed playing with them the other morning, listening to the Creative Mojo podcast (am I the last person to jump on the podcast bandwagon?).  If you haven’t checked this out yet, try it!  I don’t have any fancy iPod, iPad or any of that but I do have a little mp3 player I bought about 5 yrs ago.  Up til now it didn’t get a lot of use, I’d take it to the skating rink for my workout (where they play lousy organ music during my preferred adult-only sessions) or on a run.  It’s only 2gb but I’ve never managed to fill it up with tunes.  I have a couple extra “libraries” that I loaded up with some radio shows last week & thoroughly enjoyed myself sewing while bf listened to Stern in the other room.  Anyhow, here’s what I created.

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Quick wonky log-cabinish use of some of my Heather Ross scraps.  Ehh, will be a cute addition to a future baby quilt but nothing spectacular there…

Then I decided to try something different…a mix of ‘modern’ raw edge applique with some traditional piecing.  Here’s where I started

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Some batik scraps appliqued down, then I started slicing & dicing the square.

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Ehh, didn’t like this layout.

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Ended up here.  Hmm.  “I” like it but it’s really not what I was going for.  Might make a cute pillow with some borders on it.  Harder to put together than I thought it would be, I did get my black to line up and only had to rip one time, narrow strips are a pain.  I’m going to play again today & hopefully come up with a contender in the modern or creative category.  I don’t see myself doing anything traditional, I’m really not a by-the-rules quilter.

Onto my 2011 UFO Challenge with Judy’s blog, I have most of my pieces cut and found 2 coordinate fabrics to go with them.  It’ll probably only take me 2 or 3 hrs to sew together but I’m procrastinating, it’ll get done by the end of the month.  No pic but I’m doing a pink & blue baby quilt from a fleece quilt kit (clearance steal) years ago.  Rag-style, no quilting required, no intended recipient either but it’ll go in my box o’ goodies for a future gift. 

I started cleaning my sewing room but it’s at that halfway point where it’s a disaster & not a creative atmosphere at all, blah.  My bf got laid off last week & he’s driving me totally insane Spring cleaning every other room in the house, I was afraid he’d try to move in on my room so I’m doing it myself.  Can you imagine someone else “messing around” in your studio space?  Eek!  He’s messing with my workout time too, I haven’t had a good run in a week.  Lost 6 lbs the first week, holding steady but I need to get back to it.  At this exact moment it’s –0.6 degrees outside…I should have joined the gym, that’s a cold 5am run!

Happy quilting all !

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Instant Gratification Quilting

 

I made this little quilt over my morning coffee—only 3 hrs including hand stitching the binding.  My scrap bin overfloweth…and I save some ridiculously small pieces.  This was a “scrap purist” project, I didn’t trim a thing on the little triangles.  Even the binding was leftover strips I trimmed from another quilt.  I’ve wanted to make a “ticker tape” quilt for a while so I’m calling this “Ticker Triangled.”  They’re simply raw edge appliqued to a white quilt sandwich (made from a $4 flat sheet from walmart, one of my favorite sources for cheap fabric, I don’t mind that they’re a poly/cotton blend).

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I plan to hang it vertically on the outside of the bathroom door to brighten up the paneled hallway a bit.  It measures 13x20.”

And I thought I’d share my little ‘found’ binding tools—these often come with clothing but this particular batch came with a pre-packaged quilt kit I bought last fall.  Much more pleasant than constantly jabbing yourself with pins holding the binding in place while you stitch.

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Long time UFO

 

It’s nice to wrap this little project up.  My first paper piecing from years ago.  I’m getting much better at binding!  I just used flannel for the batting & quilted some loopy stars & USA at the bottom.  Measures approx 14x17.”

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Made to match my shower curtain, also a project from years ago (not showing much because it could use a good wash, lol).

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I have one more patriotic UFO that’ll become a curtain tonight & then I think I can consider the bathroom “done.”  Pretty sad, this is the most decorating anywhere in the house…

Monday, January 10, 2011

Design Wall Monday

 

I have so many projects to do…this wasn’t on the list but I’d like to make a little wall hanging for the bathroom.  Years ago I made a shower curtain using that fabric in the middle.  The ribbon was my first paper piecing attempt, I’ve lugged it around for 7 or 8 years, lol.  On the left is a small table runner top I made at my first quilting class a while back & never finished, I figure I can come up with something using some of these UFO’s to spice up the plain white bathroom I painted last summer.

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I also need to stack & pin a quilt for my daughter, I think I finally found a big enough piece of backing fabric while I was going through a bin last night.

On a side note, I was going to join a gym this morning but I know me too well…I’ll get roped into a contract and never go or I’ll stop as soon as the weather’s nice.  So instead I’m doing my own thing at home (and saving some $).  I already ran 35 min this morning & I’m going to use Sparkpeople to track my progress.  I used it a few years ago with great success.

Hop on over to Judy’s for more Design Wall Mondays!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Max

 

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Playing

 

I dug out my tripod & snapped some test shots after doing some homework on my camera & digital photography in general…it’s been a long time since I played with a decent camera.  This was the best of the bunch of my little yellow quilt.  Not great but still much improved from before!

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I’m actually hoping for some snow tomorrow later today so I can go for a wintery stroll with the cam.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Testing

 

Hmm, I’m trying to update the look of my blog…I see such beautiful blogs out there like Madame Samm’s Stash Manicure, she’s a real master!  Mine is so…blah.  I like this new template except for a few minor quirks (like duh, I see what time I posted but how about what DAY?).  And that search box up top?  What the heck, I can’t figure out how to do tags/labels, what good is it?  Oooo, I figured that one out!  Web design has changed so much since I was doing a corporate site ohhh, 10 yrs ago?  And my title is awful all by itself, it was all I could think of when creating a new blog.  I might like it better if I could get it out of all caps.  But I do LOVE the graphic, I have a lily & scroll tattoo from my shoulder all the way down my back (saving you from bad bathroom self pic, I’ll see if I can use my webcam sometime).  I’d like to get some tutorials & freebies up soon but I want to bring people back again, not make them run screaming.

So much for…

 

…my sharing a photo a day, lol.  It might take me a few days to get into the habit!  I did go out for a walk hike in the woods yesterday afternoon.  35 degrees & breezy, I almost got back in the car (in the abandoned parking lot--I, apparently, am nuts).  Once I got across the first cable bridge & up the hill though it was noticeably warmer.  I often hike at Hay Creek in Birdsboro, that was my destination today, to the abandoned quarry & down a new trail.  I wasn’t sure where it led & got a little worried about a half hour in that I hadn’t left early enough and I’d be out there alone after dark.  Thankfully it came out very close to the trail head.  There weren’t a lot of photo ops…tons of leafless trees, I kept watching for deer but didn’t see any.  The working quarry was booming though.

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Whoever marked this trail had a sense of humor (looking down from my vertical climb)

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I should have gone in, there’s lot of interesting graffiti in this abandoned building.

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From the edge of a cliff looking down on the abandoned quarry lake.  Next time I’ll start below & show the sheer face.

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I wanted to go back today to hike again & clean up a bunch of litter someone left but it’s barely 32 & frigid, snow’s on the way soon.  Instead I occupied my time online looking for some more local hiking trails, I found one I went to a few years ago that I loved—top of my list for the next warm-ish day.

Sooo…kind of crappy first pics from the new camera but it’ll be Spring soon enough & I can go up to the lake I photographed last year.

On the sewing front I cut my Jan UFO Challenge and lost all interest, I think I’ll take a nap instead!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Gotta Sew Tuesday

 

I flaked on yesterday’s scheduled “Design Wall Monday” post…I didn’t have anything I hadn’t shown before so pffffft, I didn’t sew a thing yesterday, or the day before.

This morning was full of errands, right before I went out the door work called asking if I could drop off the shirts I did last week.  Normally I wouldn’t drive over with such a small order but I was going into the city anyway.  Then to the tire place which was 40 minutes of boring watching a talk show all in Spanish (ahem, 2 yrs of HS Spanish longgg ago didn’t do me much good) but my rear tires were racing slicks, it’s vastly improved but still needs to go into the shop for some front suspension work.  Hmm, then a quick run through the grocery store, stopped at walmart for my new camera I bought online (if you haven’t done their free site to store thing try it, I got a great deal & as I live almost within sight of the store it’s no biggie to walk on a nice day).  At that point I knew I had to go to the bank but I also needed lunch & the dog needed to go out so I came back, did that & wasted a couple hrs online & watching tv, lol.  J’s working nights this week and it has my schedule totally whacked.  I’ll be up half the night & I. Must. Sew. Something. Tonight.  Got to.

Anyhow, I adore the new camera & I’m going to try to upload a new pic of something (probably totally goofy/random/boring) every day this year.  Some of my favorite bloggers only post once a week and it drives me nuts as I visit every day (or twice a day, I’m a junkie).  So here’s my first, the cute frame J’s mom got me for Christmas holding a few fav pics of my girls.

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